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Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Kalyns Kitchen Picks: Meza Hummus

Over the holiday weekend I went on a road trip to Wyoming for the annual Denny Family Campout. At the campout, I prepared an appetizer plate with hummus, pita, feta cheese, red pepper spread, and salami, and I was gently reminded that there are a number of my brothers and sisters who don't like hummus! I'd discovered this hummus-indifference a few years ago, but must have repressed the knowledge of this terrible family secret. Can you even imagine not liking hummus?

I've been intending to spotlight my favorite brand of purchased hummus for a long time, but this hummus scorn has inspired me into doing it. I love to eat hummus with 100% whole wheat pita bread, celery or carrots, and this brand (which I buy at Costco in a 30 oz. tub) is something that's almost always in my fridge. Because the garbanzo beans that hummus is made of are slow-digesting complex carbs, hummus is a very South Beach Diet friendly food too. Of course, hummus is easy enough to make yourself, and there are recipe links later in this post if you want to try making it. I personally think Meza hummus is as good as any I've made, and absolutely it's my favorite brand of purchased hummus, certainly worthy of being officially recognized as one of Kalyn's Kitchen Picks!

So, now that I've teased half my family (and everyone else who doesn't like hummus) how about you; how well do you like hummus? If you're a hummus fan and you have a good recipe for homemade hummus, leave a link or your recipe in the comments.

(For the record, Kalyn's Kitchen Picks are always items I have personally purchased, unless noted in the post that I received it as a sample. You can see other products I've picked by clicking the link Kalyn's Kitchen Picks.)

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38 comments:

LOVE it!! Even had it for lunch today with carrot sticks, wholewheat rye and blanched broccoli... my hubby hates it though.I just drain and rinse a can of chickpeas, if I haven't prepared some dried in advance. Simply blitzing them with lemon juice, olive oil, water, crushed garlic, ground cumin, salt and pepper to taste.. if I'm feeling fancy though I'll add other things though like tahini, minced charred capsicum, dukkah, sunflower seeds etc.

I love hummus though I was introduced to it later in life. I like Roni's version on Green Lite Bites (it has sesame oil and chicken broth). It's not the traditional hummus but it's a good substitution for those of us who need to watch the fat intake.

Don't like hummous? They're mad! My lovely grandmother's Lebanese and she made the best ever hummous. Unfortunately she took the recipe to the grave (along with all her other recipes) but I think I can almost replicate it.

Vegetarian will love to have hummus as their daily food. Though I often take it in off lunch, yet it's not my fav choice. Vitamin C and iron are highly available in humms.It's a common part of everyday meal in Israel.

I recently became a fan, within the last two years or so. My husband inhales it and I decided I should finally see what all the excitement is about. Now I'm devoted to it.

Whenever I make it at home the taste is good but the consistency is never as creamy as some of our favorite restaurants or purchased brands. Someone told me I should be using soaked chickpeas instead of canned but I haven't had the chance to try that yet. Does that make a difference? Is there some other trick I should try?

I love hummus, but, as with most delicious things, I tend to over-indulge. I now eat Good Neighbors fat-free hummus--it has all of the ingredients of hummus less the olive oil. It also happens to be organic and and contains just 30 calories per 2 T.

I also love hummus. I am fairly new at making it, I just whir the chickpeas around the blender and add some kosher salt, roasted garlic, and minced shallot. The kids turned their noses up at the first time I made it, but they are coming around, and love to dip tortilla chips into it. thank you for the recipe.Check out some of my favorite recipes at www.foodista.com

I have been tweaking my recipe for a while now. I need to update the recipe I posted on my blog a while back (http://tinyurl.com/5mg2xl). I use less vinegar and don't always use mayo. Sometimes I put some tofu in.

Trader Joe's Three Layer Hummus is my favorite purchased hummus, but I'll check for Meza at Sam's sometime to see if they have it.

I'm so happy to wake up and hear from all these hummus lovers! Thanks for the sharing your tips and recipes. I think Tanna's idea of adding avocado to hummus is a keeper, and I love hearing the various recipe variations.

Not like hummus? That is a dirty family secret! I love the stuff. Early on my SB diet, I often felt the need to eat, even if I wasn't particularly hungry. Hummus and celery sticks got me through those rough times.

There was a great article called "The World of Hummus" in Saveur magazine (April 2006). It was interesting, informative and amusing plus gave a great recipe for hummus which I've used ever since. It's the best I've ever had with the possible exception of the homemade hummus at Middle Eastern restaurants.

Unfortunately, I can't find the recipe or article at saveur.com.

In general, the author of the article agreed with Mercedes from Desert Candy about hummus.

Funny your family hates it. My dad hates it as well. He says it tastes like dirt:) He always says who wants to snack on a garbanzo bean?? ha!! Well I love it!! And I love the Meza brand too! We have some in our fridge right now!! I also love Mazza's hummus. It is the best in SLC.

I'm in the hummus loving camp. It's one of my favorite quick lunch go tos. Here's my version without tahini. I love tahini too, but I don't always have it around.:) The baked tortilla chips with cumin are really yummy, too.

I didn't realize it was physically possible to not like hummus. When I was in undergrad, tubs of the stuff (regular, roasted red pepper, and garlic/basil/sundried tomato) were scattered liberally all over the departmental offices I hung out in. It was great energizing study food.

I'm going to have to try and find this brand, I don't think I've seen it before. Around here, the best available by far is from Holy Land, although I'm not sure how widely distributed their food is outside of the Twin Cities (MN).

all the more hummus for you - I love the stuff and particularly love a version they sell in Melbourne with pumpkin in it (not on my blog but easy enough to imagine) - I have the moosewood hummus on my blog which is one that I love

I've got a mostly demolished container of homemade hummus on my desk (next to a bag of ww pita chips) as I type! I was buying it for a while, but when my hollow-leg boyfriend discovered that he liked it (and would promptly inhale almost an entire container of it in one sitting), I decided I had to start making it, if only to save money!

I found that I'm actually put off by even as much as 2 cloves of raw garlic in a batch (made from one can of chickpeas), so I load up on roasted garlic and just add a little raw instead. I have to say, after making/mashing it by hand for the first few weeks, I enjoy it much more now that I have a food processor :P

I tried one store bought hummus once and it had not flavor. Then I started making Roasted Red Pepper Hummus at home. I find it interesting that your posts about hummus and roasting your own red peppers fall in the same month. I roast my red peppers in the oven at 450 for 15-25 minutes. Here is the recipe from allrecipes.com:

In an electric food processor, combine garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, and lemon juice. Process until the mixture is smooth. Add roasted red peppers and basil; process until the peppers are finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl, cover and chill until you are ready to serve.

I live in Detroit, with its large Middle Eastern population, so we have a wealth of hummus choices, even at the supermarket. However, I first learned to make hummus about 25 years ago while living in DC, my hometown.

I learned it from Jane Brody's Good Food cookbook, which cuts way down on the tahini and substitutes some olive oil and of all things, soy sauce. It's still really the standard by which I judge all hummus, including the authentic stuff in ME restaurants.

So I can't put the recipe here, but I urge anyone to try it. One thing I used to do, since at the time I had no food processor and making it in large batches for parties strained my poor blender, is leave it rather chunky. If you use dried chickpeas, this is easy. Sometimes, if a store bought hummus isn't too salty, I will add a touch of soy sauce. It may be inauthentic, but it adds a real depth. You could try Bragg's Amino Acids, too.

Ooops, forgot to add in my previous (novel) entry: Hummus also works with canned butter beans! I scored a stash of cheap cans at a local store and tried it out at a party and everyone said "the hummus is so light!"

My husband has lost 40 pounds through a lifestyle change that included my own "hummus" every day for lunch with veggies. Because regular hummus is calorie dense, I made up one with only 3/4 T olive oil per can of peas, and added cumin, Sriracha, curry powder, cilantro, garlic and lemon & lime juice. This is spicy! It satisfied my husband's hunger and he doesn't feel like he is dieting. You could even add tuna to kick up the protein. . . I've also made one with pickled and fresh ginger and horseradish and served it on cucumber slices with black sesame seeds. The trick to smooth hummus is to either skin the peas or process them when they are hot, adding either the hot cooking liquid or hot tap water to desired consistency.

Thanks for joining the conversation! I love hearing from readers and even though I can't always reply to every comment, I will always answer specific questions on a recipe as soon as possible. Sometimes I'm answering by iPhone, so my replies may be short!

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